Pray Without Ceasing  by  Larry W. Peebles  February 8, 2019  19.04

The decision was ours.  The contractor and I had discussed all the options regarding whether we should attempt to pour concrete that day.  The front porch of our home in the mountains had not been accessible for four months as the contractor had torn out the sidewalk and steps, and removed all the fill dirt that supported the walk and steps.  This was necessary in order to replace the rotted timber retaining wall built years ago to hold the fill dirt in place.  Rain had delayed the completion into the winter, but the contractor had been diligent to work when he could.  The new stone retaining wall was finished, and the fill dirt had been replaced and compacted.  We only needed to put back the concrete sidewalk and steps to regain use of our front door, but the window of opportunity was small.

Monday morning started with a break in the cold and rain, but the weather forecast said more rain was on the way by early Monday evening.  The rain would be overtaken by a cold front, temperatures would drop, and the chance of snow was possible beginning early Tuesday morning.  My son, who is in the construction business, told me I needed four hours of temperatures above 40 degrees in order for the concrete to cure sufficient to withstand the rain and cold.  My contractor told me the concrete plant could deliver concrete between 3-4 pm Monday afternoon.  If the concrete arrived at 3 pm, was poured in place by 4 pm, and the rain held off until 8 pm, we might make it.  The contractor wanted to pour the concrete, but he wanted me to make the final decision.  He said we had a little time in the morning to think about it before we needed to commit.  I said I would call him back.

I told my wife the situation, and we immediately began to pray.  We both knew the Lord was well aware of our situation, and He understood the weather better than any weather person.  In fact, according to Matthew 8:27- “even the wind and the waves obey Him.”  We asked the Lord what we should do.  In only a few minutes, my wife asked if I had an answer.  I did, and told her so.  We often pray and compare answers to make difficult decisions, so I asked what answer she received.  She said we should proceed.  That was my answer also.  I called the contractor and gave the word to order the concrete.  Trusting we had heard from the Lord and made the correct decision, my wife commented that the Lord was able to slow down the advancing weather even if we had gotten the answer wrong.

We left the house shortly afterward thinking we had plenty of time for a walk in the mountains before the action started later that afternoon.  Our two mile hike along a fast-flowing mountain stream was simply wonderful.  As we neared the end of the walk around 1:30 pm, I received a phone call.  The concrete truck was on the way.  We picked up the pace, got in our vehicle and hurried back home.  The workers had already arrived, and were making last minute preparations and adjustments to the concrete forms we had requested.  By 2 pm, the concrete truck arrived.  By 3 pm, the concrete walk was poured.  We had gained an hour on the scheduled arrival of the rain.  The temperature was holding above 40 degrees, but I was concerned it would drop in a few hours after the sun went down and the rain moved in.  Six o’clock came, the sun went down, and there was no rain or temperature drop.  The conditions were not changed when we went to bed at 10 pm.  When we got up the next morning at 6 am, there was still no rain, and the temperature had held in the low 40s all night.  The rain did not come until around 10 am Tuesday morning, some 19 hours after the concrete was poured, and at least 12 hours after the weather report had forecast the rain.  The temperatures did not drop until early Tuesday afternoon, which caused very slight snow flurries.  The weather change arrived much slower than predicted.  The concrete had survived the weather threat, which eventually produced considerable cold the remainder of the week. 

Prayer had given us the correct answer.  Some would say this was not a big deal, not a life-threatening event.  While that may be true, my response would be that it is a good example of responding to a situation in faith and prayer.  Further, if we cannot trust Him in small matters, how can we learn to trust Him with the larger life or death issues such as an accident, injury, surgery, or cancer, to name a few. 

There are three main Scriptures I want to examine on this point:

1. Philippians 4:6- “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to God.”  The word “everything” in the Greek is pas (Strong’s #3956), and it means every, all, always, whole, or any.  The word “nothing” in the Greek is medeis (Strong’s 3367), and it means no one, nobody, none, nothing, not a whit, and not any.  We can therefore take this Scripture literally, because nothing means nothing, and everything means everything.  We are not to be worried, distressed or troubled by anyone or anything.  We are to “cast all our cares upon Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter5:7).  Every care, worry, concern and decision, is to be brought to God in prayer.  If He is God and already knows, why is this necessary?  There is value in the process when we pray and He answers.  We learned to trust our spouse or close friend through experiences with them.  As our trust grew, we became even closer to that spouse or friend, and we shared even more experiences.  The relationship then grows into a deep love.  We are the object of God’s deep love, and He wants a love relationship with us.
2. 1 Thessalonians 5:17- “Pray without ceasing.”  The Greek word for “ceasing” is adialeiptos (Strong’s #89), which means constant, continual, and constantly recurring.  We are to live lives of prayer, and we are to live lives in prayer.  Prayer is to be a continual dialogue with God.  It does not need to be formal hands-folded, knees-bent to the floor, although there are times that may be helpful.  Rather it is a day-long, life-long two-way conversation with God about all matters, large and small.  The emphasis is on “two-way”, meaning we have to learn to listen as well as talk.  The more I practice the technique of listening, I find the reply can come in many ways.  It might come from reading the Word of God.  It might come from someone God has put in my path who has spoken to the situation I am facing without even knowing it.  Lately I am finding more replies from the Lord coming in the night while I am asleep or on the edge of sleep.  These might be dreams or quick images that contain the solution or word of direction on which way to go.  Isaiah 30:21 says- “Whether you should go to the right or to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you saying ‘This is the way, walk in it.”  I have literally had that happen to me.  Like an effective public speaker, God will often lower His voice to get our attention rather than attempt to shout over the interference.  If we are to hear from God, we must focus on listening.  We pray, then expect and listen for the reply.
3. Ephesians 6:18- “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.”  God is a spirit- Being.  We are also spirits, temporarily trapped in a human body.  We are to pray spirit to Spirit.  Certainly we are to pray with our mind about what is on our mind, but there are times we simply do not know how to pray-what outcome to ask for, or which outcome is better.  Praying from our mind tempts us to pray our will, not God’s for the situation.  Only God knows the future, and the effect of any situation on all involved, both now and in eternity.  Romans 8:26- “The Spirit also helps us in our weaknesses.  For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”  This Scripture speaks of a heavenly language which cannot be understood except by the Holy Spirit.  It is the “tongue” the believer often receives after they are born again.  It is the mode of communication when we want to connect at a deep level–from our spirit directly to the Holy Spirit.  This communication by-passes the brain, and prays into the will of God and asks for His answer, not ours.  1 Corinthians 14:14- “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful [uninformed].”  Praying this way becomes the ultimate test of the love/trust relationship.  If I pray about concrete, I might pray in my mind.  If I am praying about someone’s life, I will pray spirit to Spirit to the Lord and Giver of Life, because only He knows the best outcome, and I trust Him completely.  I think of this in terms of hand tools versus power tools.  A hand saw will cut a board.  A power saw will cut that same board faster and straighter.  A hammer will drive a nail.  A nail gun will drive many nails faster and truer.  Praying from the mind will work, but our mind does not always know the whole situation, or the will of God regarding the matter.  Praying in and from the spirit will be more effective and powerful, like a power tool.

God is clear in His word that He wants us to pray.  Jesus gave us an example of a life of prayer, and even a model prayer in Matthew 6:5-15.  We should pray without ceasing on everything.  Rather than simply pray to God, we should develop a dialogue with God, carefully listening and expecting for Him to answer.  Prayer should be that forum where God reveals the mystery of His supernatural and miraculous ability to act powerfully in our lives.  Jeremiah 33:33 encourages us to pray –“Call to me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”  My favorite verse on the matter of prayer is 2 Chronicles 7:14- “If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land.” Prayer is desperately needed in our lives, in these times, and in this nation.  Pray without ceasing and expect concrete answers.